Włodek Gulgowski - Beyond Infinity (2020)

Włodek Gulgowski

Włodek Gulgowski - keyboards

Beyond Infinity

SOLITON 689






By Adam Baruch

This is an album by veteran Polish (resident in Sweden) keyboardist/composer Włodek Gulgowski closely linked to the early Polish Jazz scene, starting in Traditional Jazz and moving into modern Jazz in the 1960s and later on into Fusion in 1970s. Since then Gulgowski was involved as composer, arranger and player in many diverse activities ranging between Pop to Classical Music, cinematic music, New Age and others. This album offers music composed and performed by him using acoustic piano and multi-tracked synthesizers and drum machines, presenting ten tracks, three of which are mini-suite like triptychs, four are grouped into a collection and three are stand-alone pieces.

The music is pretty difficult to categorize, as it flirts with many diverse music genres, often performing chameleonic transformations within one piece. There are clear traces of Jazz, as expected, but also a distinct Classical Music palette, mixed with New Age hyper-melodic repetitions, Symphonic Progressive Rock reminiscences, atmospheric Ambient vistas and finally Latin World-Music accents.

Gulgowski is undoubtedly a very talented musician and composer, but listening to this music brings up immediately a feeling of "too much, too late". Yes it is all very pretty and it sounds great, but on the other hand it is sort of déjà vu altogether. Having said that, many listeners will absolutely love this music, as it is absolutely lovable. Overall this is a superbly and cleverly crafted piece of music, which will make many listeners on the lighter side of Jazz perfectly happy. And there is nothing wrong with this of course.

Various Artists – Polish Radio Jazz Archives Vol.13 (2014) ****

Zbigniew Namyslowski - saxophone
Wlodek Gulgowski - piano
Tadeusz Wojcik - bass
Czeslaw Bartkowski - drums

and others

POLSKIE RADIO 1663



By Adam Baruch

This is the thirteenth installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland's most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well.

The material collected here presents a second volume of recordings made in 1963 during the sixth Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw. It starts with two lengthy tracks, both treatments of classic Jazz standards, by the legendary American saxophonist Johnny Griffin and his quartet. Prior to this recordings Griffin, like many of his Afro-American colleagues, moved to Europe, where Jazz was experiencing an explosive development and was considered an Art Form and racial discrimination was almost completely absent. The quartet includes fellow American pianist Kenny Drew, who settled in Europe a couple of years earlier, Dutch guitarist Wim Overgaauw and Dutch bassist Ruud Jacobs. Followers of this series are of course aware of the fact that the eleventh volume already presents a double CD with material recorded by Griffin at the same festival with the same musicians. Personally I'd have preferred to have that release expanded into a triple CD set and have all the Griffin sessions together, but I'm not the series' editor.

Next come three tracks by the Danish trumpeter Allan Botschinsky and his quintet with American born saxophonist Ray Pitts, who moved to Denmark in 1962, pianist Atti Bjoern (name most probably miss spelt), bassist Benny Nielsen and American drummer Robert Joseph (real name Robert Joseph Durham or Bobby Durham as he was known to all – Polskie Radio should have known this, especially since I already made this comment / correction on the a.m. Griffin album – please read people! The music is all original and includes two compositions by Pitts and one by Botschinsky. It is typical bee bop, well played, especially by the leader who was a first rate trumpeter, but not extraordinary in any sense.

The two tracks closing the album are the most interesting for the Polish Jazz fans and they present the Zbigniew Namyslowski quartet with pianist Wlodek Gulgowski, bassist Tadeusz Wojcik and drummer Czeslaw Bartkowski, the same quartet that would record several months later in Britain the legendary album "Lola", the first significant exposure of Polish Jazz behind the Iron Curtain. Both are original compositions by Namyslowski, the first would be the title track of the British LP and the second seems to be the only appearance of this composition on record. These are the initial steps of the first golden decade of Polish Jazz, and as such their documentation is priceless, as is the music.

The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

Zbigniew Namyslowski Modern Jazz Quartet - Lola (Decca, 1964)

Zbigniew Namyslowski Modern Jazz Quartet

Zbigniew Namysłowski - alto sax
Wlodzimierz Gulgowski - piano
Tadeusz Wójcik - bass
Czesław Bartkowski - drums

 Lola (Decca, 1964)

However good European jazz musicians might be, seldom if ever are they likely to initiate any new jazz directions. During the last decade and a half we have had Swedish George Shearing-style quintets, Danish Mulligan-like quartets, and innumerable other imitation's. Poland's Zbigniew Namyslowski MJQ comes close to an original sound, yet it is obvious that this unit would never have existed in this present form without the work of John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman. 

One nameless British jazz critic is quoted on the sleeve as saying that Namyslowski's own alto playing "almost makes Ornette Coleman sound like George Lewis". On the strength of the music heard here this is nonsense, for although Zbigniew Namyslowski's approach is 'new', he observes chord sequences and improvises in a more conventional manner than Coleman. At the same time Zbigniew has made quite astonishing progress when one considers that his experience of jazz has probably been limited to records and Voice Of America broadcasts heard in Poland. His playing transcends the expected type of phrasing, splaying across the 'traditional' breaks in the chorus construction. His tone, incisive with a cutting edge, brings to mind the attack of Sonny Criss and Jackie McLean. 

The writing is by members of the quartet, with the exception of Kern's 01' Man River, of course, and takes in a variety of moods. Generally speaking, the work of the pianist, bass player and drummer is adequate rather than inspired, but the deep-rooted intensity of the leader's alto compensates for this. It would be interesting to hear Zbigniew Namyslowski after he had spent, say, six months working in New York with men such as Billy Higgins, Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison. This LP was made in London last summer during the Polish quartet's visit to this country. Readers may recall their appearances at the Ronnie Scott Club, the Richmond Jazz Festival and on a BBC broadcast, all of which opened a few eyes—and ears—to the advanced state of jazz in Poland. A.M. 

Tracklist:
1. Piękna Lola, kwiat p [06:37]
2. Leszek i Ludwik [03:36]
3. W 5/4 czasu [08:00]
4. Blues Shmues [03:50]
5. Rozpacz [07:19]
6. Tkotkonitkotko [04:44]
7. Woźny Najważniejszy [03:54]
8. Piatawka [06:45]

source: Gramophone

Michal Urbaniak – Fusion III (Columbia Records, 1975)

Michał Urbaniak - electric violin, violin synthesizer

Urszula Dudziak - voice, percussion, electronic percussion
Wlodek Gulgowski - electric piano, Moog, and electric organ
Anthony Jackson - bass guitar
Gerald Brown - drums
Steve Gadd - drums
Larry Coryell - guitar
John Abercrombie - guitar
Joe Caro - guitar
Bernard Kafka - voice

Fusion III (Columbia Records, 1975)

This is the 3rd and last album released in the US on the Columbia label by Polish violinist / composer Michal Urbaniak. In retrospect it is also one of the best Fusion albums ever recorded on this planet. Urbaniak, a veteran of the Polish Jazz scene, first came to prominence as the member of the legendary groups led by the Godfather of Polish Jazz, pianist / composer Krzysztof Komeda. While with Komeda, Urbaniak played the saxophone and switched to violin only after founding his own group in the late 1960s, when he also changed his musical direction from Modern / Free Jazz to Fusion, inspired by the groundbreaking innovations created at the time by Miles Davis. 

In his group he included his wife, the extraordinary singer Urszula Dudziak and together they quickly developed a completely unique type of Fusion, which was light-years ahead of anything else happening in that genre at the time anywhere in the world. Mixing Jazz, Rock, Folklore and Avant-Garde vocals, they established a completely new approach to composition and multilayered complexity, as documented on the two albums the group recorded as part of the legendary "Polish Jazz" series of albums, which was simply brillant.

Frustrated by the state of affairs in his country, which suffered under a Socialist Regime and harsh economic conditions, Urbaniak, like most of his colleagues, constantly looked for an opportunity to leave Poland and establish a career behind the Iron Curtain. He managed initially to record a couple of albums in West Germany, but the real break came when Columbia offered him a recording deal. He and his wife left Poland and settled in the USA, as did several other Polish Jazz musicians at the time, like his ex group member pianist / composer Adam Makowicz for example. The three albums Urbaniak recorded for Columbia (and several more for other US labels, especially the dazzling "Funk Factory" album recorded shortly after this one and also reissued on Wounded Bird) were outstanding and simply much better than anything the local scene could muster, but unfortunately Urbaniak's US career never really took off, same as the careers of all other Polish Jazz musicians who tried to make it there, in spite of their immense talents. The reason was simply the narrow-mindedness of the US Jazz community (listeners and critics alike), which considered Jazz to be exclusively an American Art Form and failed to recognize anything originating outside of the US as artistically valid and meaningful, even if it hit them in the face. 

On this album Urbaniak is accompanied by top US Fusion players like guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Steve Gadd, as well as Polish compatriot Keyboardist Wlodek Gulgowski. Guitarist Larry Coryell guests on one track, guitarist Joe Caro guests on another and Polish vocalist Bernard Kafka guests on yet another track. Drummer Gerald Brown replaces Gadd on two tracks. Dudziak's vocals are simply out of this world and alone are worth listening to this album repeatedly. Urbaniak wrote almost all the dazzling music except for three tracks: a Dudziak improvisation, a superb composition by Polish saxophonist Zbigniew Namyslowski, which fits this album's mood like a glove and one tune by Gulgowski. As already said, this is timeless, heavenly, unparalleled music, which I've been listening to in the last almost 40 years without any trace of getting tired by it any time soon. This is an absolutely essential Fusion music, and anybody who has not heard this music does not know the true meaning of Fusion. God bless Wounded Bird for finally releasing this divine album on CD!

Track listing:
1. Chinatown (part 1) (Urbaniak)[05:24]
2. Kujaviak Goes Funky (Z. Namysłowski)[06:12]
3. Roksana (Urbaniak)[05:42]
4. Crazy Kid (Dudziak)[02:35]
5. Prehistoric Bird (Gulgowski)[05:19]
6. Bloody Kishka (Urbaniak)[04:21]
7. Cameo (Urbaniak)[04:41]
8. Stretch (Urbaniak)[06:20]
9. Metroliner (Urbaniak)[04:44]
10. Chinatown (Part II)[03:56]

By Adam Baruch
http://www.adambaruch.com/

Warsaw Stompers – Warsaw Stompers (Polish Jazz Vol.01, 1963)

Warsaw Stompers (band)

Henryk Majewski- trumpet
Waldemar Kurpinski- clarinet
Wlodzimierz Kruszynski - clarinet
Jerzy Kowalewski - trombone
Andrzej Dobrawa - trombone
Dimitr markiewicz - trombone
Wojciech Kacperski - piano
Wlodzimierz Gulgowski - piano
Tomasz Ochalski - piano Bogdan Ignatowski - banjo
Zdzislaw Orlowski - bass
Adam Skorupka - bass
Tadeusz Wojcik - bass
Janusz Kozlowski- bass
Marian Zabek - drums
Mieczyslaw Wadecki - drums

Warsaw Stompers (Polish Jazz Vol.01, 1963)

This album presents a series of recordings made by the polish traditional Jazz ensemble Warsaw Stompers (earlier called New Orleans Stompers), which was one of the first and certainly the best of its kind. Led by the excellent trumpeter Henryk Majewski and drummer Mieczyslaw Wadecki the ensemble changed the membership over the years and included in its ranks some of the best future Polish Jazz musicians like saxophonist Zbigniew Namyslowski and keyboardist Wlodzimierz Gulgowski. The traditionalists vs. modernist Jazz War raged in Poland in the 1950s similarly to what happened all over Europe at the time with the New Orleans revival emerging as a counterforce of the new Bebop and beyond. However, beyond the heated discussions running into the wee hours of the night between the opponents, Jazz as music coexisted peacefully, resulting in outstanding results in both fields. The Warsaw Stompers played an all original programme, which is quite remarkable for the time, again emphasizing the deep involvement of the Polish scene with the Jazz tradition, which started even before the WWII. The level of the compositions as well as the performance is truly stellar and anybody who loves traditional Jazz should be able to enjoy this music to the fullest. Highly recommended!

Side Note: Although some Polish Jazz albums were recorded and released in Poland before this album, it marks the very beginning of the legendary Polish Jazz series, which over the years documented the development of the Polish scene and resulted in total 76 releases, which in retrospect include some of the best European Jazz recorded beyond the Iron Curtain. The Polish Jazz LPs and CDs are highly collectable and many fans all over the world try to complete the collection, which is not an easy task these days. The CD reissues (called Polish Jazz Deluxe) expanded the original series with some 20 additional titles, which somehow missed the original series at the time but belong to be a part of it in retrospect.

Track listing:
01. Warsaw Ragtime No.1 (3:25)
02. Bluesoragtime No.2 (2:15)
03. Melba Rag (3:31)
04. Roztanczony Kundel (3:03)
05. Zabawny Charlston (2:52)
06. Kas Bil Rag (3:23)
07. Czarny Lad (3:10)
08. Marzenie Misia (2:52)
09. Ej Przelecial Ptaszek (3:08)
10. Starzyk (3:16)
11. Motywy Goralskie (3:06)
12. Gdyby Rannym Slonkiem (3:02)
13. Rozbawiony Klarnet (2:40)
14. Madras (3:13)
15. Upal (3:06)
16. Nietoperz (2:58)

By Adam Baruch
http://www.adambaruch.com/